Association aims to uplift The Bluff
Ratepayers and residents are urged to register as members of the association.
THE newly-elected Bluff Ratepayers and Residents Association (BRRA) committee are hoping to bring positive change to the once flourishing suburb.
Armed with a newly-amended Constitution, the association, formerly known as the Bluff Ratepayers Association (BRA), is now calling on ratepayers and residents to register as a member.
Norman Gilbert, the association’s chairperson, said earlier this year, a group of concerned residents had called for a special general meeting after seeing the need for an intervention as there were many service delivery, among other issues in the area.
“We were quite concerned and seeing as the former association was not an active body, there was a need for an active ratepayers association. At that meeting the new committee was elected in terms of the original Constitution, which was a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary.
“After the election, we were given a mandate by the people at the meeting to refine and redraw the Constitution. After putting the draft version out for comment and adjusting accordingly using the feedback we received, the new 16-page Constitution was adopted,” he said.
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Allison Schoeman, the vice-chairperson, said there were many concerns that needed to be addressed.
“It is not just The Bluff that has these problems, but eThekwini as a whole, but we know the problems that the municipality are faced with, so we are now on a mission to #takebackTheBluff, with the help of the community. Service delivery is the main issue as we are currently experiencing a lot of sewerage issues, which is an environmental and health concern, as well the infrastructure issues, which is quite problematic.
“However, it is important to note that we have an effective ward councillor and ward committees who are very active in the community. We aim to work with them so that we can provide the residents with a better quality of life, by resolving the problems we currently have,” she said.
Gilbert added while the association has future plans and projects to uplift the community, one of their main goals is to get the community, both ratepayers and residents to register with the association.
“We want to establish a registered members-based association. One of the problems that many associations have is not having a core membership-base. You can’t run an association with just three or five people. If you have a core membership base, it makes it easier to function as a body.
“While we have grown the membership base, it does not reflect the fact there is about 9 000 ratepayers and residents on The Bluff. We want more people to register, so that we can have substance to our body, especially if we had to challenge the municipality for any reason in the future, we need to have a valid mandate and be able to show them who we are representing, not just hundreds of people, but thousands,” he said.
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Gilbert added that their first project, which was to secure chairs for the hall where meetings would be held, was a great success.
“Within two hours of posting on social media that we were trying to raise money to buy chairs, the response was phenomenal. We were able to purchase 94 chairs for the community hall (ex-boxing club), where we have our meetings.
“The response from the community has shown that the people want to see change and are willing to do what it takes, and that is the attitude we need to have if we are going to restore The Bluff to its former beauty. We can do it together,” he said.
To register, visit the association’s webpage, brra.page
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